I come before you very humbly because I believe many of us feel this tension every single day in our work. We feel the divide within midwifery. We feel the pressure to choose a side.

On one end of the spectrum, there are midwives who are often labeled “medwives.” Midwives who are seen as too clinical, too evidence-based, too medicalized.

This May, NACPM made history. Our first-ever virtual conference, “Centering Midwives, Restoring Care,” brought together midwives, students, birth workers, funders, advocates, and allies from across the country for two transformative days of learning, connection, and community.

Too many women still die from preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth. Skilled care before, during, and after birth can save lives — and midwives are best placed to provide it. Achieving universal coverage of midwife-delivered interventions by 2035 could avert 67% of these deaths. But, the world is short one million midwives. We need urgent action to grow, support, and sustain the global midwifery workforce. This #IDM2026, sign the global petition calling on policymakers for #OneMillionMore

The word “advocacy”, while by definition encompasses an action, can mean many things to different people. I would like to speak to the intention of the why perinatal advocacy is critical to the improvement of perinatal health disparities, and highlight examples of how you can step in, too.

The word “advocacy”, while by definition encompasses an action, can mean many things to different people. I would like to speak to the intention of the why perinatal advocacy is critical to the improvement of perinatal health disparities, and highlight examples of how you can step in, too.

On the plane to Washington, I read bell hooks. Her essay Killing Rage met me where I was. She writes about the particular fury that lives in the body of the oppressed. The rage that we are taught to swallow, to soften, to share only at home among our own. She asks a question I have been turning over ever since: can rage, when connected to our passion for justice, be healthy? Can it heal?

We have asked politely. We have asked strategically. We have asked in legal terminology and legislative language.

Community-based midwives in Georgia have been asking for licensure since 1991. Initially the state of Georgia said “No”, stating that the maternal mortality rate would surely go up. Unfortunately, that rate did go up because midwives were not accessible.

“It is always our goal to make teachers of our students.”

In 2016, less than two years into my independent midwifery practice, I began apprenticing with the Dakota master quillwork artists David and Merna Lewis. The pair had spent years revitalizing the art: learning from their own elders, looking at old books, combing through museum archives, trying to figure out how certain techniques were done by our ancestors. In other words, they had done a lifetime’s worth of revitalization work so that their students wouldn’t have to. So that their students could go farther than they had.

Collective Power & Collective Voice in Continuing the Legacy of Midwifery
By: Lisa Gendron, LM, CPM

As midwives embedded in and working within our communities, CPMs are often called to examine our relationship to those communities — especially in times of social, economic, and cultural change. Over the past five years, we have been required to approach community-based midwifery with greater creativity, dynamism, compassion, and groundedness.

Join us at NACPM’s Virtual Conference!

We’re thrilled to announce NACPM’s first-ever virtual conference, “Centering Midwives, Restoring Care,” taking place May 20–21, 2026.

This two-day, immersive, virtual experience will bring together leading voices across clinical care, education, advocacy, research, equity, and systems change. With a strong emphasis on the latest research, evidence-based practice, and real-world application, this conference is designed to support and strengthen midwifery leadership at every level.

Join MMHLA on March 10 for National Day of Action for Maternal Mental Health: Virtual Congressional Meetings.

This once-a-year event is an opportunity to join forces with people from across the country to meet (via Zoom) with federal elected officials in support of maternal mental health programs that serve thousands of moms in the U.S. every year.

As NACPM steps into 2026, we are guided by a bold and necessary question: What foundations must be in place for a future where CPMs are widely available and fully integrated across the country?

The Virtual International Day of the Midwife (VIDM) is an annual online FREE conference that celebrates the International Day of the Midwife. It is held on or around May 5th each year to be as close to the International Day of the Midwife as possible.

VIDM runs for 24 hours and covers a wide range of subjects with speakers from around the globe. It uses online conferencing software to bring together people who have an interest in childbirth matters – midwives, students and consumers — all completely free.

Become a CPM Midwife in Hawaiʻi

In partnership with Hawaiʻi Home Birth Collective (HIHBC) and Ea Hāhau, we’re offering financial support for Hawaiʻi residents pursuing midwifery education or training toward becoming a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM).

This program is designed to:
Grow the number of CPMs in Hawaiʻi
Strengthen our maternal health workforce
Support long-term, community-based maternity care

Dear Friends, Like so many of you, I was drawn to NACPM because it reflects my deepest commitments to protecting direct-entry midwifery and expanding access to a model of care that is not only truly life-changing, but life-saving.

As we approach the end of the year, we want to pause and say thank you. Your generosity, in 2025, has fueled NACPM’s work to deliver critical tools, research, and infrastructure to strengthen the midwifery profession nationwide.

We’re thrilled to share an incredible opportunity available exclusively to NACPM members—but only for a short time.

From now until December 15th, members can purchase the Masimo Rad-G Pulse Oximeter (with temperature sensor, suitable for newborns, children, and adults) for the remarkable price of $540. (Yes, it’s FDA approved for CCHD screening use.)

The Epic Work of Generosity: Midwifing What Is Possible

By Brooke Prudhomme

I am writing to you this morning, November 23rd, from a ferry, crossing the dark winter waters between Seattle and Bainbridge Island to visit with a newborn that was birthed to their mother in the quietest hours of the night before last. Gliding across the Puget Sound, I can see nothing but fog and the faintest outline of the island as it slowly emerges.